Adored (Masters and Mercenaries #8.5)(14)

He was certain the new Sanctum was going to be a mind trip. “I’m actually taking some time off. I’m buried in work over this solar deal.”

He was working on the sale of the company Harvey Dixon had taken such exception to. It was one good thing that had come from Laurel quitting. He no longer had to worry about her getting in his line of fire.

Dixon was still in rehab, but weird things had started happening. His tires had been slashed three nights before. He’d called Derek, but there wasn’t much he could do. He’d checked in on Dixon and then explained that three other vehicles had been vandalized in the area that very night. Kids?

He was paranoid, but that didn’t mean someone wasn’t out to get him. At least he no longer had to worry about Laurel.

Except he did. Every single night.

“Is there something I’m not getting here, Mitch?” Will was staring at him suspiciously.

Mitch shook his head and put his best game face on. “Nope. This is a very complex contract and I stand to make an enormous amount of money off it. Once this deal goes through, I might think about retiring, maybe go down to the coast and do some fishing.”

Will’s eyes had gone wide. “You don’t fish.”

He shrugged. “Just because I haven’t before doesn’t mean I won’t in the future. This deal should set me up for a good long while as long as I’m not stupid enough to get married again. Hence the fishing.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Will said with a smile. “I hope you’ll change your mind. I haven’t seen you in weeks. Kai says he hasn’t either. At least come to poker night if you don’t want to play. Though I have heard there are a couple of new sub trainees.”

And that was something he took exception to. “Including your sisters.”

Will had the good grace to blush. His face screwed up as he winced. “That was so not my idea. Laurel and Lisa got interested because of Bridget. They have very romantic notions about D/s. I almost had a heart attack when I found out they’d tried another club. Despite the fact that it’s weird to see my sisters there, I’m happier having them at Sanctum. Thank god, Lila has a boyfriend and neither of them seem to have any interest in kink at all. Although now it seems Laurel has lost interest, too. She turned down her further training but asked if she could keep working there. I guess she likes babies more than Doms.”

But she wouldn’t always. He intended to leave Dallas in a few months after this deal was done and then everything would be open to her. Her one night with him would be nothing but a much-regretted mistake that would fade away once she found her soul mate. “I think she’ll want to try eventually, but don’t let Taggart put her with someone cold like Smith. Talk to Kai. Get involved. She needs a softer hand. Try someone her age.”

Will was back to looking suspicious. “For someone who’s not interested in my sister, you seem to have thought this through.”

He shrugged. There wasn’t much else to do. “She was my employee for…well, for longer than most. I’ve got to get going. I’ve got a couple of interviews this afternoon.”

“You having a hard time replacing her?” Will asked.

“I’ll never replace her.” That was a stupid thing to say. “You know. I’ll never find anyone as willing to argue with me. See you around.”

He didn’t like the way Will stared at him as he drove away. As though he was a puzzle. Will liked to solve puzzles.

It didn’t matter. He had things to do and plans to make. Plans that didn’t involve her.





“Will’s late. It’s the doctor thing,” Lila said with a frown on her pretty face. “They think they’re all gods and we mere mortals should wait at their leisure.”

Laurel thought Lila had been a nurse for way too long. “Or he’s stuck in traffic.”

Laurel kind of wished her brother would get here. She thought she’d seen his car pull up a few minutes before, but he hadn’t walked in yet. She’d skipped breakfast and now she was shaky. She was totally ready for her neurologist brother and trauma nurse sister to pay for lunch. Especially since she’d taken a pay cut in order to salvage her pride.

“Where are we going?” Lisa asked as she stepped up, settling her purse on her shoulder. Her little sister was a senior in college, and she’d done it the hard way. She’d been working part time and going to school full time for most of her adult life, and it was all going to pay off in a few months. Baby sis was graduating with an MBA, and she was already in talks with Bridget’s sister, Amy, about going to work for Slaten Industries.

“Mexican, please,” Laurel said. She was totally willing to beg. “I’ve been dreaming about enchiladas all day.”

“Is that why you didn’t eat breakfast this morning?” Lila asked with a judgmental eye.

Yeah, it was awesome to live in the same apartment complex with her two sisters. Lila would show up randomly to make sure she was eating right. They’d had to watch out for each other growing up due to their mom’s preference for drugs over parenting, and it seemed her older sister hadn’t gotten out of the habit.

“Are you on some weird diet again?” Lisa asked.

“You know how those diets go,” Lila said with a sigh. “You starve yourself and then binge later. It’s not good for you.”